STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Each month, or every other month, a student will provide a 1-page illustrated abstract of the research they are currently conducting. This is a wonderful opportunity for the student, for our International Society for Concrete Pavements (ISCP) Members, and for the transferring and sharing technology/research through our concrete paving industry.
The ISCP “STUDENT RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT” for March 2026 is Paola Huynh, a PhD student at University of Texas at Austin (Texas, USA).
BIO:
Paola Huynh is a current Ph.D. student majoring in Civil Engineering – Infrastructure Materials Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She completed her master’s degree at UT in Civil Engineering – Infrastructure Materials Engineering in May 2025. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Texas State University in civil engineering with a minor in applied mathematics, graduating with Summa Cum Laude in May 2023. Huynh has been in concrete research since December 2020. Her master’s and Ph.D. research is under the supervision of Dr. Maria Juenger. Her current Ph.D. research investigates how steel reinforcement corrodes in low-carbon concrete and design corrosion-resistant low-carbon concrete structures using low-carbon materials. Her master’s research was a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funded project. Her master’s research evaluated the feasibility of limestone calcined clay cements (LC³) systems made with available manufactured materials in the United States for concrete bridges. Although her thesis research was completed in May 2025, she is currently organizing data for the FHWA database and participates in ongoing group meetings as the entire project’s deadline is of this year.
TITLE: LC³-like Systems made with Calcined Clays and Portland Limestone Cements
Huynh’s research addressed the rising need of alternative materials to decrease clinker content in cement due to the issue of decreased availability of supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag. Calcined clays derived from kaolinite have emerged as a promising alternative due to their abundance, favorable physicochemical properties, and their potential in limestone calcined clay cements (LC³). LC³ cements are typically composed of 30% calcined clay, 15% limestone, 5% gypsum, and 50% clinker, offering a viable solution for reducing clinker usage while maintaining performance standards.
The research aimed to develop cement-clay blends that achieved target flowability, pass ASTM C595 and EN 197-1 compressive strength requirements, and contain the lowest percentage of clinker allowable. Various LC³-like systems were made for four states, using locally sourced materials in each case. A superplasticizer was used to aid in flowability due to the fineness of the calcined clays resulting in dry mixtures. After various trial testing, mixtures were selected to be the representative LC³-like system for each of the states.
Figure 1: Flowability of mortar mixture (left) without superplasticizer and (right) with superplasticizer.
Figure 2: Compressive test to failure.
Additional tests were performed including bulk resistivity, isothermal calorimetry, mini slump, quantitative x-ray diffraction, x-ray fluorescence, particle size distribution, Blaine fineness, thermogravimetry analysis, particle size distribution, and rapid, relevant, and reliable. LC³ provide an effective solution for future infrastructure needs by addressing the decreasing availability of some supplementary cementitious materials through the inclusion of calcined clays.
ISCP would like to feature a “STUDENT RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT” each month, or every other month. If you would like to nominate a student, or if you are a student and would like to nominate yourself or a colleague, please send ISCP an email to: newsletter@concretepavements.org